The Islamic Republic of Iran has significantly escalated its war effort against the US with the launch of two intermediate-range ballistic missiles on Friday towards Diego Garcia, a key US and British military base in the Indian Ocean.
The attack on Diego Garcia, about 4,000 kilometers from Iran, means Tehran’s missile capabilities appear to have exceeded previously recognized limits.
In the period leading up to Operation Epic Fury on February 28, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed: “We have deliberately kept the range of our missiles below 2,000 kilometers so that we don’t have that option. And we don’t want to do that because we have no animosity against the American people and all Europeans.”
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Map from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies showing Iran’s missile range. (The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies)
On Saturday, Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said: “Yesterday, Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000 kilometers. [2,500 miles] towards an American target on the island of Diego Garcia. These rockets were not intended to hit Israel. Their reach extends to the capitals of Europe – Berlin, Paris and Rome are all within direct threat range.”
IDF spokesman Nadav Shoshani denounced the alleged Iranian deception on
“It also shows how dangerous it is to rely solely on Iranian fatwas on nuclear weapons and the Supreme Leader’s public rhetoric to formulate U.S. policy. As long as Iran retains technical capabilities beyond public pronouncements, it is a threat.”
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A banner depicting Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is placed next to a ballistic missile in Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran, on September 26, 2024, on the sidelines of an exhibition marking the 44th anniversary of the start of the Iran-Iraq war. (Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
“I think it’s a message that the IRGC is in charge in Iran after the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,” Brodsky said. “While Khamenei was alive, he limited the range of Iran’s missile program to 2,000 kilometers. Khamenei recounted in 2018 how he had rejected overtures from IRGC commanders who wanted to increase the range to as much as 5,000 kilometers.
“But now that he has passed away, voices in the IRGC who want to expand its reach will likely set the agenda. The launch of the missiles was likely intended as a signal of the IRGC’s capabilities to threaten US allies outside the Middle East. This threatens Europe, for example.”
The two Iranian long-range missiles did not hit the base, but the attack attempt marked a significant expansion of Iran’s reach beyond the Middle East and toward a key U.S. strategic hub. One missile reportedly failed in flight, while a U.S. warship launched an SM-3 interceptor at the other, officials said. It was not immediately clear whether the interception was successful. The remote base is a crucial launch point for U.S. bombers, nuclear submarines and other strategic assets.
“That’s what Epic Fury is trying to address. The government believes, quite rightly in my opinion, that these kinds of capabilities cannot be left in the hands of a radical, predatory regime.
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Israeli air defense systems are activated to intercept Iranian missiles over the Israeli city of Tel Aviv amid a new barrage of Iranian missiles on June 16, 2025. (Menahem Kahanna/AFP via Getty Images)
“Despite public denials, it is clear that the Iranian regime has been working for years to extend the range of its ballistic missile capabilities. The launch towards Diego Garcia confirms that it has made real progress towards that goal and is already capable of compromising targets in the same range as Central and Eastern Europe. Furthermore, it is clear that the regime is seeking even greater capabilities and that, if they remain intact, Iran’s ballistic missiles would soon achieve intercontinental range.”
Berman, the author of Iran’s Deadly Ambition: The Islamic Republic’s Quest for Global Power, added: “The parallel development that Iran has made in its space program is significant. The booster used to deliver payloads into orbit could be linked to an intermediate-range missile to create intercontinental standoff capabilities. Before the war, we saw a clear convergence of the regime’s strategic programs: its ballistic missile work, its space capabilities and its nuclear program.”
A U.S. B-2 Spirit bomber, part of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, stops to refuel at the U.S. military base at Diego Garcia in October 2001 after an airstrike over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Department of Defense/Senior Airman Rebeca M. Luquin)
He warned of the serious Iranian threat to continental Europe.
“Europe is absolutely at risk, as the recent launch makes clear,” Berman said. “I would not say, however, that the failure to recognize this so far is the result of grand deception by Tehran. Rather, it is due to willful blindness on the part of European elites about the magnitude of the threat posed by the Iranian regime, as well as an overreliance on diplomacy and arms control in containing it.”
On Saturday, Britain condemned the attack.
“Iran’s reckless attacks, which are sweeping the region and holding the Strait of Hormuz hostage, threaten British interests and British allies,” the British Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “RAF jets and other British military assets continue to defend our people and personnel in the region.
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“This government has authorized the US to use British bases for specific and limited defensive operations.”
